Telling Them
by Emullz
Summary: Skye, Jane, Batty and Rosalind tell their children about Arundel and Point Mouette. Only on chapter two. Every chapter the kids get older. Next Generation Penderwicks! First fic up there... boo-yah! R&R! Western cause that's how I roll... ;
1. How They Got There

"Once upon a time, there were four girls, their father, and a dog riding out to a place up in the Berkshire Mountains," Skye Penderwick said, winking at her sisters as the family sat around the campfire and grabbing her Fiancée's hand. "They were upset, because the dog in question had eaten the map. But only because a certain someone had put her sandwich in it. So the family was lost."

"The girl hadn't meant to put her sandwich in it," Batty cut in. "She didn't want to hold it anymore so she put it in there for safekeeping. But, finally, after a certain someone threatened to kill the girl who put the sandwich in the map-"

"-but only because it was all her fault that they were lost in the first place," Skye interrupted.

"Jeffrey says Aunt Skye has a bad temper. Like in the story. And it's usually about Auntie Batty, too. Or Missy Tifton," Lizzy said importantly.

"Jeffrey!" Skye protested, turning to face the man whose lap she resided in.

"It's true, darling," he answered calmly.

"The four girls, weary and tired, finally made their way to an enchanted tomato stand," Jane said dramatically.

"I don't think it was enchanted," Rosalind put in, laughing. "It was just old Harry. He told the girls directions and they went on their way. First left, quick right, then look for number eleven."

"You remember the directions after all these years?" Jane asked, face alight. "That's truly a memory of love and-"

"After a bit more of that, in the car, the girls pulled up to a giant castle," Batty cut in, hugging little Claire tighter as she looked around in wonder at her three sisters.

"It wasn't a giant castle, it was just a regular size castle," Skye said quickly.

"You're just touchy because you live there now," Batty said sharply. "The place is giant. And Jeffrey was in the front window, remember? Jane was the only one who saw him."

"And Skye said he was imaginary," Jane said, sniffing. "He clearly isn't."

"Well I know that _now_," Skye said, sounding wounded. "Now he's _mine_."

"Oh, God, stop with the mush!" Rosalind said, groaning. "And yes, Jane saw him first."

"But I met him first. By almost crushing his skull," Skye argued.

"Yes, that hurt. Let's not do that again." Jeffrey smiled. "And Jane came to apologize. That was funny. And then you burned up the cookies."

"Auntie Batty and I played firemen last week," Lizzy said seriously. "We pretended you burned the house down when you tried to make lasagna like last weekend. It was fun." Skye blushed furiously.

"So after the girls pulled into the driveway," Rosalind said, getting them back on track, "they saw a boy. With a Red Sox hat and gardening gloves. His name was Cagney." Rosalind turned a little pink. "He talked to the girls father about the cottage they were supposed to be renting. He told them it was down the road a little ways and that it was yellow, and the key was under the mat."

"How do you remember all this?" Batty asked incredulously. "I only remember Hound barfing up the map and hiding behind a tree when Cagney tried to talk to me!"

"That's the only part you were concerned about," Skye reasoned. "I remember that it was all over Jane's yellow sneakers. And Rosalind took forever getting the paper towels."

"Ew." Lizzy said faintly.

"Yeah, it was gross," Rosalind put in. "And then when Cagney came up I was holding vomity paper towels, and I was sweaty and gross and very embarrassed."

"That I can believe," Batty said, smiling. "And I remember thinking the house was made of butter when we pulled up it was so yellow!"

"And Hound drew for order and didn't pick me first," Skye grumbled.

"You got the best room!" Rosalind protested.

"Please, can we get on with the story?" Jeffrey asked, exasperated.

"So the girls opened the door and their father immediately claimed the sleeping couch off to the right," Rosalind went on smoothly. "And Skye called dibs on first pick of room."

"But the other girls said it was unfair and made their 'trusty' dog Hound draw for order," Skye grumbled. "Which was completely unfair seeing as Hound hated me and I don't understand why it was always him when we could pick out of a hat!"

"Oh, hush," Rosalind scolded. "You got the best room anyways."

"So Hound drew names, and the girls picked their rooms," Batty went on.

"The first girl had a beautiful room with a sloping ceiling and-" Jane started, closing her eyes.

"We'll skip this part," Skye said quickly. "All you two need to know is that one of the rooms was big and white, one was in the attic and the other two had connected closets."

"I used to call it a secret passageway," Batty said, smiling. "Now I know it's nothing like that at all."

"You used to get your wings caught on hooks trying to get through it when you were tired," Rosalind laughed. "And I had to get you out before you fell asleep like that."

"Speaking of falling asleep…" Batty trailed off, smiling. Little Claire was snoozing in her lap.

"I remember how fast you used to nod off," Rosalind got up. "It's time for bed anyways. Come on Lizzy, it's bedtime."

"But Mommy!" Lizzy protested, jumping off the log she was perched on and running around the grass. "I'm not tired!"

"Too bad," Tommy told his daughter, scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Off to bed!" Lizzy squealed as they made towards their cabin.

Skye grinned. Nothing had changed. Nothing at all.

**I just love this story. This is a oneshot… FYI. It might seem like I'm going to continue, and I might if asked by enough people, but I'm kind of swamped with other stuff. But yeah, this is just about how they're older and they're still best friends and Arundel influenced their lives so much and they're telling their children. **

**Well. I hope you like it. Review (if you're not too busy!)**

**XOXO,**

**Emullz**


	2. How Skye Met Jeffrey

**Well I decided to make a chapter two anyways. If you like it, then… well, review it, I guess.**

_3 years later_

The Penderwick clan sat around the living room table, trying to calm down the excited children that sprinted around the room and cried or shouted. The noise was about to drive most of the sisters over the edge.

"Who wants to hear how Auntie Skye met Uncle Jeffrey?" Batty asked loudly in a last-ditch attempt to get some quiet. Lizzy looked up curiously, thinking back to what she'd heard of this before.

"You mean the house made of butter?" she asked, running over to where Batty sat on the sofa and climbing up onto her lap. Claire noticed that her older sister had run over to the adults. Not wanting to be left out, she scurried over too.

"Come here, Theo!" Skye called, holding out her arms to the chubby little boy with the toy trains in the corner. He pattered over and was instantly scooped up by Jeffrey who ran the train up and down his leg. Theo giggled wildly.

"It all started when Aunt Skye decided to go exploring the new place they were staying at for the summer," Batty began.

"She tried to get Aunt Jane to go with her," Skye butted in, "but she was writing a very exciting story in which Sabrina Starr rescues a boy." Skye smiled over at Jane, tapping the book on the couch next to her, entitled _Sabrina Starr Rescues an Archaeologist_. The books had been a big hit.

"So Aunt Skye set off on a wild adventure through magical hedges and-"

"Please, Jane, no more," Rosalind said, handing a squirming Claire over to Tommy. "Skye went off to go into the gardens there, to see if there was anything interesting."

"She couldn't decide between the driveway or the tall hedge that separated the cottage and the mansion," Skye said, glancing at her sisters. This was the first time they had heard this part of the story in this much detail. "She thought that the hedge was better for spying, so she went off to find a way through."

"At about the same time, Uncle Jeffrey was trying to escape his mother, who was on a rampage about petunias," Jeffrey added.

"Skye managed to find a tunnel through the hedge," Skye went on.

"While Jeffrey went through as well," Jeffrey continued.

"They smashed into each other," Skye said ruefully. "And I thought you were one of my sisters, and was ready to punch you."

"You almost did, to try and wake me up. Then you told me my mother was a pain, and left." Jeffrey smiled, glancing at Jane.

"Aunt Skye was very, very sorry for calling Missy Tifton bad names, because you should never ever do that," Rosalind said, looking at Lizzy. "Especially not to younger sisters."

"Of which you have plenty and have called numerous names," Batty told Rosalind in an undertone. Rosalind glared.

"And then Jane, taking a step of friendship and bravery, knocked on the shabbiest door of the mansion and asked to deliver an apology speech." Jane looked in wonder at her sisters, wondering why none had interrupted her. "Jeffrey accepted and they all went home for cookies."

"The end," Skye said hurriedly, growing red at the mention of cookies. "Nothing else happened."

"Sure, nothing else happened," Batty muttered, recalling her terrifying experience with the bull, and her torn wings.

"Cake!" Mr. Penderwick called from the kitchen. Lizzy and Claire raced in to claim the corner slice with the flower, and Theo, not to be left behind, started behind them.

"I guess we'll save the bull for later," Skye whispered to Jeffrey and the family lined up in the kitchen. "I still think I would've been able to taunt it better than you."

Jeffrey merely smiled. Nothing had changed.

**I'm dedicating this to my sister, Carly… she got me into these books. I love her for it. Merry Christmas!**


	3. How Batty was Saved from the Bull

"Casey, sweetie, can you keep a secret?" Jeffrey asked his daughter as he tucked her into bed. He heard laughter coming from the other side of the house as Skye struggled with the rest of the family, seeing as Jane and Rosalind were at the opera with Mr. Penderwick. Skye, staying true to her beliefs, wanted no part of this and volunteered to keep all the cousins at home.

"Yes," the little blonde girl answered sleepily, blinking her sky blue eyes up at him.

"Mommy and Daddy saved your Aunt Batty's life!" Jeffrey told the little girl, reaching out and tickling her.

"Did not!" Casey shrieked with laughter, causing Lizzy, Claire and Jenny to rush in the room.

"TICKLE FIGHT!" they shouted in unison, immediately jumping on each other. Skye appeared in the doorway, holding Theo upside down like a sack of potatoes.

"Oh, no," she said, plopping Theo down on Zoey's bed and reaching in. She managed to pluck out Jenny, the smallest of the three girls, and stop the other two. "Your mother told me if there was so much as a scratch on any of you she was taking away my right to see you," she told the girls sternly. Jeffrey smiled, remembering the first time Skye held baby Lizzy. _If there is so much as a scratch on that baby I worked so hard to make, you're dead!_ an exhausted Rosalind had proclaimed in the hospital.

"You did not!" Casey exclaimed, glaring at Jeffrey, her cheeks red.

"Didn't what?" Skye asked Jeffrey, giving him the evil eye.

"Save Batty from a bull," Jeffrey said innocently.

"Oh, no. You are NOT telling them that story. They'll go and try to bother the poor thing!" Jeffrey held his hands up in surrender.

"Bull?" Ben asked, sauntering in with Zoey on one hip and J.R. on the other. "You mean the bull that-"

"No! We are not telling them about the bull!" Skye protested. Claire walked slowly over to Skye.

"I've never heard about the bull before… and I'm sure we'll drop right off to sleep when it's over. Right, Lizzy?" Lizzy nodded and they both gazed up at Skye with puppy-dog eyes.

"Bull! Bull! I want the bull!" Theo shouted, rolling his Tonka truck across the bedspread.

"Fine." Skye sighed, reaching out for J.R. "But you have to promise- not a word of this to Aunt Rosalind. She still thinks Batty got stuck in a pricker bush."

"Cross my heart," Jenny said solemnly, tugging on one of her chestnut curls.

"You have to actually cross it!" Zoey stage-whispered over to it. Jenny's hand jumped to her chest.

"Okay. You've all heard about how Aunt Skye burned the cookies?" Jeffrey asked around. Skye blushed, as always. "And you know how we all went for a walk, to cool off."

"Yes!" Jenny shouted, crawling closer. "What we _want_ to know is what happens _next_!"

"With the bull!" Theo chimed in.

"Okay, okay. There was a fence, and inside there lived a big, scary, 600 pound bull!" Jeffrey grinned evilly. "And it stomped on people, just for the fun of it!"

"But Skye didn't believe Jeffrey was telling the truth," Skye said, plopping down on the floor. "She thought it was just an old fat cow." Jenny, Lizzy, and Claire rushed over to sit next to Skye, who was notorious for her exciting bedtime stories.

"It wasn't, was it?" Claire asked breathlessly.

"No, it wasn't," Skye said, her voice darkening. "It was a dark, giant, violent monster!" Zoey gasped as Skye reached out to tickle her.

"It was a bull, let's leave it that," Ben said, smirking as he leaned against the doorway.

"Oh, shut up, you're ruining it!" Skye told him, fighting a smile.

"Jeffrey told Jane it would be all right if she climbed to the top of the fence to see the bull," Jeffrey went on, giving Ben a look. "So she did. And guess what she saw?"

"THE BULL!" Jenny shrieked, grabbing Lizzy's hand. "THE BIG, EVIL, MONSTER-BULL!"

"Yes, the bull was there. But Aunt Batty was too… dun dun dun!" Skye said, getting on all fours. "The bull crawled towards her, hiding in the grass, ready to ambush her and trample her to death!" J.R. sniffled.

"Then Jane, confused and just trying to help, screamed at the top of her lungs." Jeffrey stepped in as Skye acted like a bull, growling dramatically. "Skye and Jeffrey ran into the field and Skye picked up Batty and ran out as Jeffrey bravely conquered the bull, throwing rocks and-"

"Jeffrey threw a couple of pebbles and ran the other way. Skye, on the other hand, would've knocked that bull to the ground and made it so scared it would never-"

"All right, Skye, we get it," Jeffrey said, exasperated. "Batty was saved, and the four Bull-Vanquishers walked back to the cottage in peace."

"The bull came crashing after them, stomping and roaring, and shaking his horns!" Ben yelled, stomping his feet and advancing towards Claire. "He caught them before they could get in the door and took them away to his pen and stomped on them with his-"

"That's not what happened!" Casey shrieked from on the bed with Jeffrey.

"No-no-no!" Zack screeched. J.R. squealed and bounced around on the floor.

"Skye, Jane, Batty and Jeffrey couldn't tell Rosalind, because they weren't allowed in the bullpen," Skye said, giving Ben a sharp rap on the head. "So they told her Batty got stuck in a bush and that's why she looked so scared."

"All right, time for bed, all of you!" Jeffrey said, standing up.

"Head count!" Skye called, and all the kids lined up on the wall except for J.R., who was with Ben. "Jenny, Claire, and Lizzy are here," she said, patting each dark curly head. "And Zack the Mini-Tommy. And all of mine, Casey, Zoey, Theo." Casey and Zoey lifted their identical blond heads at the mention of their name, their blue eyes blinking and their freckled faces yawning.

"John Ronald, on cue, " Skye told the baby with Ben, smiling. "Where's Jo? I swear, that girl's as flighty as Jane. JOANNE!"

A little head popped out from underneath the bed, the dust stuck in the dark curls. "Right here!" Jo told Skye, pulling her blanket behind her.

"Why on _earth _were you underneath the bed?" Skye asked her, tossing kids blankets and sleeping bags.

"I was just under it for fun," Jo answered, bouncing on the Aerobed set up by the door. "Do we all have to go to bed now?"

"_Yes_," Skye replied firmly, tucking in all the kids one by one and saying goodnight. "All you monkeys better stay in bed, or no cookies tomorrow, all right?" The kids nodded and Skye, Jeffrey, and Ben made their way out into the massive living room of the Arundel "castle."

"I can't believe the four of you managed to keep that away from Rosalind for all those years," Ben told Jeffrey, his eyes crinkling up into the famous Penderwick smile that had been sending girls falling at his feet since he hit his growth spurt in the eighth grade.

"Yeah, well, I'm still afraid to tell her now," Jeffrey said, half to himself. "She'll probably ground me or something, even though I'm married to her sister and I'm, what, 34 and have 3 kids who are 5 and 3 and are getting in timeouts themselves now…"

"Tell me what?" Rosalind asked, walking through the door in a gorgeous dark purple dress and, for once, heels.

"God, Rosy, why can't I pull off something like that?" Skye asked, gesturing at the purple fabric.

"Tell me _what_?" Rosalind asked again, her eyes narrowing.

"That in college I got really drunk and started reciting Shakespeare and wouldn't stop until Jeffrey took me home and taught me to play the piano wearing clown shoes," Skye improvised. "It was Senior Year, I was 21," she added hastily.

"Oh, I can see why you wouldn't want to tell me that," Rosalind stated. "I wasn't feeling well, so I caught a cab home. The opera was in French, so I didn't miss anything. Daddy loved it."

"Well that's good," Jeffrey said, sighing with relief. "Our night was… enjoyable. We told the kids a great story and they're all in bed."

Ben, standing in the corner, gave Skye a wink as he slipped through the doorway to the kids' room. Suddenly, shrieks of laughter could be heard from within.

"Nothing's ever easy in this family," Rosalind grumbled as she moved to go quiet down the kids.

"You got that right," Skye replied, her face stretching out in a wide smile.

**All right. 3 down, much more to go. This one was basically introducing a whole mess of kids, and they might seem weird because I haven't been around kids this age since I WAS a kid this age, if you count out my cousins, and I do because they're my cousins, so they're not normal, seeing as they're related to me. **

**But I hope you enjoy this, and here's a quick list of the kids mentioned:**

**Elizabeth (Lizzie), Claire, Jennifer (Jenny), Theodore (Theo), Joanne (Jo), Zoey, Casey, Zachary (Zack), and John Ronald (J.R.). Rosalind's are Jenny, Claire, Zack and Lizzy, Skye's are Casey and Zoey and Theo, and the rest are Jane's. **

**If you review with the authors Jane's kids are named after, I will give you a very lame prize. Trust me, it's gonna be lame. But it's free, so I'd take it. But that's just me. And we've already established that I'm weird. **

**And anyone reading this, it's the only Penderwicks FanFiction out there. Just make a oneshot, please. This book is too cute, and funny, and it's the first book that ever made me want to read it 57 times (and counting), to go unnoticed.**

**XOXO,**

**~Emullz**


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